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epresentation was accepted, however, the larger States tended to favor a weaker, rather than a stronger Senate. In the end, this difficult issue ended in compromise. The original States would be equally represented in the Senate. The Senate would have almost co-equal power with the House of Representatives. It would not, however, be able to initiate tax or appropriation bills, nor amend bills imposing taxation or the key appropriation bills. The voters of each State, acting as a single electorate, would also directly elect the Senators for the State. A second, very difficult issue was the fiscal settlement. It was accepted that both levels of government would have their own taxing powers. It was also accepted, however, that the Commonwealth would have exclusive power to impose duties of customs. This was an important taxation source for the colonies. If it were transferred to the Commonwealth, it would be necessary for some revenue to be redistributed regularly by the Commonwealth to the States. The disagreement was over the basis on which redistribution should occur. More customs revenue was collected in some colonies than in others. These colonies took the view that the moneys should be redistributed in proportion to collections. Other colonies, understandably, preferred another basis for redistribution; population numbers was the obvious alternative. In the end, there was another compromise. Revenue would be distributed initially on the basis of collections. After a short initial period in which this was guaranteed, however, distribution would be made on whatever basis the Commonwealth Parliament deemed “fair”. There was some conflict between the interests of the various colonies over the procedure for constitutional change as well. A referendum was the obvious procedure, given the means by which the Constitution would be approved in the first place. But should the people vote nationally, which would give the larger States greater influence, or within States, giving the smaller States more of a say? The result was to require both: a national majority and a majority in a majority of States to approve a referendum. In addition, certain parts of the Constitution of particular importance to the States, such as their proportionate representation in the Parliament, and the protection for State boundaries, could be altered only with the approval of voters in the States that were concerned. For the most part, the British Parliament simply enacted the Constitution approved in Australia. There was, however, conflict between the British government and the colonists over appeals to the Privy Council, which had been greatly restricted by the Australian draft. Without compromise, enactment of the Constitution was threatened, at least in the form that the Australians had agreed. The restrictions on appeals were relaxed, a little, while still preserving exclusively for Australian courts the sensitive constitutional issue of the boundary of power between the Commonwealth and the States. These are old battles. Upper Houses and fiscal federalism are issues in federations everywhere, but the detail of these struggles in Australia is not relevant for Burma. They are noted here as examples of conflicts between State interests, in forming a 32
federation, and of the accommodations that in this case were made to resolve them. Another point may be of interest as well: while the particular compromises served to achieve federation, none worked out precisely as expected. The Senate votes on political party lines. It has done relatively little to protect State interests, beyond increasing the representation of the smaller States in the Commonwealth Parliament well beyond that to which they would otherwise have been entitled. Neither of the two alternatives for revenue redistribution over which the framers of the Constitution fought were serious contenders for long. Rather, revenue redistribution now occurs on the basis of the principles of fiscal equalization, through a system in which the population of each State is weighted by a factor that takes into account State revenue raising abilities and expenditure needs. The Commonwealth Constitution has proved very difficult to change and, in most cases, even national majorities reject referendum proposals. Predictably, appeals to the Privy Council became irrelevant, with Australian independence. Arguably, however, the focus on the Privy Council prevented the States from perceiving how important the High Court would become, in interpreting the Constitution and from recognizing the potential significance of the fact that the Commonwealth government alone would appoint that Court. State Constitutions The constituent parts of the Australian federation are the six original States. Australia also has some territories, some of which are “self-governing” but which lack the constitutional autonomy of the States. One of these, the Northern Territory aspires to become a State. The potential relevance of this for indigenous Australians will be considered in that context, below. Each of the Australian States has its own Constitution. Each State Constitution dates back to the colonial period. Each was drafted by the State (then colonial) Parliament, relying on authority granted by the British Parliament. The State Constitutions are broadly similar, because they derived from the same colonial model. They are not identical, however and they have become increasingly dissimilar over time, as changes have occurred. The main purpose of each State Constitution is to establish the governing institutions of the State. Thus a State Constitution typically establishes the State Parliament and confers power on it to, for example, make laws for the “peace order and good government” of the State. The High Court has held that this power is territorially limited; in other words, within a federation, there are limits on the power of State Parliaments to legislate for matters outside their territorial boundaries. Australian State Constitutions also deal with the executive government and, in most cases, the State court system. In addition, as a result of increasing pressure to acknowledge the significance of local government, most State Constitutions 33
Page 1 and 2: REPORT The Role of State Constituti
Page 3 and 4: Executive Summary Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: He stressed the need for Burmese to
Page 7 and 8: nurturing accommodations. These cro
Page 9 and 10: Nigeria’s history of constitution
Page 11 and 12: Is a census important? A proper cen
Page 13 and 14: senior positions and this has helpe
Page 15 and 16: BURMA: STATE CONSTITUTIONS AND THE
Page 17 and 18: The 1947 Union Constitution, which
Page 19 and 20: It may not be enough therefore to a
Page 21 and 22: the Karen and other minorities were
Page 23 and 24: ◆ exact outcome is determined by
Page 25 and 26: divisions in India is such that it
Page 27 and 28: All minorities, whether based on re
Page 29 and 30: the exceptions from the traditional
Page 31 and 32: AUSTRALIAN FEDERALISM, STATE CONSTI
Page 33: Once the draft Australian federal C
Page 37 and 38: minority rights. The Australian fed
Page 39 and 40: ◆ A few social powers, although t
Page 41 and 42: dependent than ever on revenue redi
Page 43 and 44: The situation began to change in th
Page 45 and 46: NIGERIA’S EXPERIENCE IN MANAGING
Page 47 and 48: emaining twenty four were indirectl
Page 49 and 50: …federalism include: • The need
Page 51 and 52: almajirai, 31 security inadequacy,
Page 53 and 54: ◆ Constitutional prohibition of S
Page 55 and 56: List of Participating Groups: The w

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